Some folk seem to like the 'traditional style of surfing - carves - turns - length of ride.....etc ( pre 80's style) - has its moments - but - I much prefer mixing in the Big air - big explosive moves type of surfing - having the manoeuvrability and power that an rc surfer has - just lends itself to 'Going Big !'... my mindset is not wanting to emulate an actual surfer - but to be as creative as possible with a wave..... as an rc Surfer.

Here is a great article to read - relating to modern day surfing - and the evolution of surfing ...

Being able to ADJUST the boards ride attitude to best suite the days Surf conditions ....is ultimately what one would want. -as with modern performance surfboards

There are days when the surf is near perfect...glassy.. with a light breeze - and - there are those days when the surf is big, bumpy.. with howling wind.......some days you want the nose up - some days you need to keep the nose down......some days you want it tight - some days you want it lose....You want Variables'...quick - easy - effective...

Been scratching my ass for a while - been trying a number of 'things'from weight distribution to adjustable tabs - all have had an effect to a degree - but - not ideal or totally impractical.

More recently... I have come up with further variable design aspects in manufacturing the Bi-Fin - hopefully adding further value to the days surfing experience....

IMO and from extensive experience and testing - the Bi-Fin is the ideal fin for rc Surfing:

The Bi -Fin effectively has two fins - both having an outward camber (as with actual twin / tri surf board fins) this certainly holds better in the wave face and producers more drive - surfing left and right - The outward fin camber seems to hold the boards inside rail, deeper into the wave and it displays far more stability when running around in the surf. when compared to running a single fin. The positive foil (wing-let) on the left fin tip helps to counter the props rotational torque and balances the turns out - making for a balanced feel in the steering. Having no disruption in front of the prop (as a single fin would be) allows for a clean thrust line,which adds to acceleration / speed / effeciency.

The Standard Bi-Fin which I have been surfing for ages - has a neutral / parallel fin setting - i.e. no noticeable effect on the boards actual ride angle of attack. Proven to be a great all round fin in most all conditions. Great for the average day - 4ft-6ft faces - moderate breeze - good clean pealing waves....

The Toe- In.. Bi-Fin has the fins toeing In, going forward.. as with most surf board fins ....this has the effect of pulling the tail deeper into the water - lifting the nose up - making for a loser board - which is great to surf in the tighter - hollower - waves....less pearling in the pocket....especially on the very hollow, pealing waves or the smaller waves.....2ft - 3ft face..

The Toe-Out Bi-Fi has the fins toeing outward going forward...has the effect of lifting the tail and pushing the nose down to a degree - placing more board in the water - great for those very windy days, when the wind tends to get under the board - the faster you go, the more board is in the water, where as, with a neutral or toe- in fin, the wind will more than likely get under the board and 'flip it'. Also great for surfing the bigger face waves - carving bigger arc's - more of the inside rail is placed in the water- wider - more powerful turns..

I'll look to demonstrate the various fin effects on a flat water video in the near future... ...and share fin selection in future video's..

A video to demonstrate the various Bi-Fin Toe' dynamic effects....having the ability to simply/effectively change the boards angle of attack and ride attitude, makes for an even finer tuned set-up - which makes for better surfing overall !

Been using the TURNIGY 3XS 2.4G PIstol Grip Radio for the past year - very regularly. Initially chose to try it out and compare it with the HK GT2 2.4G - pistol grip radio.

On initial impressions - it looked a little more High-Tech - only needed 4 bats as opposed to 8 bats - had more advanced tuning /set-up functions - BUT - has not proven to be all that robust for day to day use - especially in the Salt Air environment.

Things that broke easily - Antenna pivot ( plastic) - the small spring hook (plastic) within the throttle mechanism - Steering spring rusted and broke - worst of all 'the rolling cylinder which is used to elect and select the set up mode and settings displayed on the digital display screen rusted rather soon - negating all possible adjustments - stuck with fixed set-up settings.......not nice at all.
More recently now, I have been experiencing intermittent delays and loss of bind - which I can only put down to further corrosion within the units electronics.

The feel of the steering wheel has also been tight and it has a small throttle cut button on the hand grip - which is so often acidently actuated due to its position - cutting the motor ( irritating)
Although it has an option to select two various steering proportion whilst one is surfing - it is not possible to custom fine tune either the throttle or steering s proportion settings on the run...which is limiting.

The HK GT2 radio has proven to be a real reliable work horse radio - so cheap it could be disposable - yet tough and lasts so well - this radio I have had for well over two years ( used solid for a year) without a glitch. The steering and throttle travel / proportion adjustments are made by use of simple pods - which can be adjusted on the run - and - I have always enjoyed the feel of the wheel - more solid and seemingly accurate..

Operating anything in the salt environment is corrosion waiting to happen - The HK GT2 has thus far proven to withstand the conditions well- is a simply adequit radio and is the least expensive of radio's, should one eventually need to replace it.

hey bro i wanted GT2 but went 3xs cause of bad reports about the GT havin range issues on latest editions.... ?

Anyway.. talkin to my rc surfers motor reving, on the phone in my house, while goin at least 100m up the street with phone and transmitter, transmitting through 3 walls another house and some tree's has me happy the range is good.
Guess time will tell how it performs when the corrosion sets in.

Saturday Morning Session early'.... been having my fare share of surf this week .....enjoying.the first signs of the winter swell trickling into the bay. for the most of it's size - it has been far out to enjoy - even on the high tide - but great intermediate waves to be had.

Demonstrated the neutral and toe - in Bi Fin's difference in this video - makes a positive difference in the windy bumpy conditions...keeping the board on the water'...

Ended the weeks surfing off with a great session down at Cemetery - 3-4ft face - clean pealing waves - had good opportunity to demonstrate the various Toe Fin Dynamics...........whilst enjoying a few good rides....

Really been enjoying surfing the float'er board for the past year. Surfed well over 150 sessions, in just about every shape- size and condition of surf our local rc Surf accessible breaks in Cape Town could deliver...Definitely!... a board that has consistently proven it's ability to deliver great rc Surfing performance - earning a permanent place in my YPC 'Quiver !'........

https://www.youtube.com/user/formulaish video pageThat said: I have had a number of folk ask if I would be doing something new this year - some asking ? - if I would be doing the 'more traditional' style of board again - and - I just want to try something slightly different - for a change.........
Given this new board design considerable thought based on my past experiences all round.. Been surfing mostly 2-6 ft face surf - which is well suited for the average 700 mm length of board I have been building and surfing..I have found that 1-6 ft face surf seems to be the mean average of surf that most rc Surfers get to enjoy. Most breaks bigger than that will have amping 'Surfers' all over it ..and when it gets really big, especially at the beach breaks, it is difficult to deal with 'seeing' the rc Surfer beyond the swell face and white waters......there are the exceptions...but not as often as one would hope for.

SO! what to build next ???? ...I decided to go for the more traditional shape of board this time around, for the traditionalists and for variance in my quiver - but - with an even Higher Aspect Ratio. (length to width ratio) - shorter/wider board...compared to the YPC floatér and ShredÁ
From my experience thus far, I have found that the 'length' of an rc Surfer is not as much of an advantage, as the actual 'width' can be !
In fact ! - I would go as far as saying that to much length can limit a boards ability to surf smaller / hollower waves in the perpendicular axis - pearling easier and more frequently, due to it not fitting into the radius of the wave shape. A shorter board will simply fit into a smaller/tighter radius better....as well as have a smaller turning circle, allowing for quicker - tighter - turns on a wave. More board length also lends itself to easier leverage: i.e. to blow off the face of the wave, when the wind gets underneath it.....where as..... A short board can ride 'a bigger wave' very comfortably.

The 'width of a board' on the other hand, plays an important roll in the boards 'rail to rail' stability. Low Aspect Ratio boards (thin) will naturally be more susceptible to falling over quicker or leaning outward - caused by numerous things - mainly - surfer figures circumferential outward force to the left and right, generated by the turns or even water impact. The wider board will be more stable overall.

Thefloatér & ShredA' have an Aspect Ratio of 710/210 = 3.4:1 - works well on most accounts

I am now increasing the Aspect Ratio to 680/220 = 3:1 - resulting in a shorter / wider board - theoretically offering more responsive manoeuvrability - and - stability ........ whilst still maintaining a good planing and trim surface area, due to the wide tail and parallel rails.Note - as with the floatér (Bro rc Surfer Custom Boards ) looking at this board's rail shape - if the rail lines were continued through the nose and tail, to realise a lower aspect ratio - longer/thinner - a more traditional sharper nose shape / narrower tail width of board - it would result in a 'longer board' - perhaps around 850 mm in length - Hence ! The shorter (high aspect ratio) shape, affords me the stability of the longer 850 mm's board's width - yet ! ability to surf smaller/ hollower surf, more suitably, being 20% shorter.

Ascetically, it will present a more realistic scale relationship between the 13" tall flexible Bro surfer figure and length of board....than if it was 850 mm long. If the longer board had a similar height surfer figure, it would look out of proportion - and if it had a more proportioned, taller figure - it would lose the advantage of the boards width stability, by comparison and be more susceptible to rail to rail instability due to th e taller surfer figures circumferential force .New Boards DIMS : size 680 X 220 X 30 - volume 4.6 L's - round nose / square tail -estimated RTS weight 2.4 kg's

Shaping the board from a 'block' of foam is a tad more of a challenge than shaping down a ready formed blank - more like sculpturing - but -equiped with a few basic profile tools/templates and a bucket load of patience - it works out just fine...gets easier as you build more and more. Takes me around an hour to shape the board out......"less haste - More speed ! "

Profile cut on a band saw.

Nose Rocker shaped with a foam former / flat sanding block

Healthy nose rocker is great for fitting into the tight hollows - popping over the white water - launching big airs !

Thickness cut out with a hand saw - very carefully

Tail thickness is shaped down with a sanding block/ foam former - reduced thickness tail is less buoyant - helping to sink the tail in the hollow sections and to dig it in the turns.

The past few days of rain have dissipated and another stunning sunny day appeared at dawn !....missed the high tide by 2 hours this afternoon - surf a touch far out- difficult to 'sea - but - still managed to squeeze a few waves out of the session...(Sun + Fun + Family + Friends) = Great Life ...

When Glassing the board: I initially use 2 layers of woven cloth either side. The colour (yellow) pigment is mixed in with the laminating resin, to ensure an authentic, deep colour finish, in the final product.

The rail wraps are all important to ensure good strength in the board. Remembering that the rc board cannot have a centre stringer rail worth any intrinsic strength, due to the accommodating of the required housing.

Corners and nose folds are lapped - sanded flat when dry - before the deck lamination is applied.

the healthier the nose rocker - the better the board rides out tight sections and overcomes white water. Not being able to have much tail rocker - compensation is required in the Nose Rocker.

Special care must be taken when shaping the rocker to have a smooth transition from the rocker radius to the boards planing surface - if it is to sharp of an intro, it will be pushing water- rather than skimming over it..sometimes a reason for bounce.

Bottom of board: dck wraps sanded down ready to fit the POD - Board length along the surface centre line - just over 700mm's

Templates and stencils are used to ensure the uniformity of the POD - accuracy is required to achieve its purpose

The PODS shape and position on the board is critical to the boards overall performance: Bsides housing the motor to achieve a low CG and reduce the thrust angle of the drive shaft - it also generates lift to introduce rail to rail lean as well as determines the boards 'turning point'.......

The POD is laminated with 4 layers of cloth - tapering out toward the rail. Once the POD is laminated the bottom/ hull has three layers of laminate in total - and the housing base will have a total of 7 layers - giving it good strength to carry the battery/motor weight etc...